Netflix UK’s head of documentary films, Kate Townsend, has reflected on the “really hard” task of capturing unique female stories.
Her comments come after the murders of Jill Dando and Lucie Blackman featured in new Netflix documentaries.
At the Edinburgh TV Festival, the executive urged film-makers to look for different stories. “It’s a historical thing, it’s just they’re victims and they’re hookers, and we just need to expand that,” she said.
“Real-life stories about women doing other things or ‘being baddies sometimes’ would be great,” she added.
Townsend shared it was easier to depict women in dramas, rather than documentaries. Although representation behind the screen is steadily improving, with women directing almost half of documentaries, their on screen treatment still wildly differs.
“But the on-screen presence, reflecting the diversity of what women are actually doing out there, is really hard,” Townsend said.
Meanwhile, the likes of Tyson Fury, Lewis Capaldi and Mark Cavendish have each gotten their own Netflix documentaries, with further series following Robbie Williams and David Beckham set to arrive on the platform soon.
Series following David Beckham and Robbie Williams will also be released on the platform in the coming months. Head of documentary series at Netflix UK, Adam Hawkins, echoed Townsend’s sentiment, saying: “What do they all have in common? Well, they’re men.”
He told programme-makers at the festival he would “love” to see more documentaries ideas surrounding “iconic British women”.
